Today's Reason To Smile:

Since moving back to NJ, I have quickly lost track of a lot of things. My mornings have vanished as I wake up near 11am or noon. My belongings are spread out across two levels of my parents’ house. The flow of income I once had hasn’t yet rebooted. Projects I began are left unfinished. Books I was reading remain bookmarked. The kitchen is foreign and frightening to me. I’m feeling frustration at…

I’m pretty sure I’ll be chopping my hair this summer. I don’t know how short it will be, but I need to keep these curls under control. I’m gonna let my natural hair shine!

Can we talk for a minute, woman to world? I spotted a list of “fat positive” tattoos on Facebook that made me gag. Yes, my feelings were that strong and I’ll tell you why in a moment. The idea of fat positive is now in our vocabulary and personal responsibility has been ousted. “Live fat, die yum”? Seriously?

Growing up I was obese. I hit my top weight at thirteen. I was 209lbs on something like…

New Story Update – Diary of an Ordinary on Fictionpress

I’ve done very little writing lately because I have a convention deadline coming up in I refuse to say how long. There has been much crafting and throwing cardboard dregs at my cats. I have, however, been reading consistently since 2015 started. I’ve read 7 books in 2015 and I’m nearly finished with book 8. Yes, I’m a slow reader. No, I don’t care because among that list is The Moon is a Harsh…

We have Titles For A Reason - Cards Against Humanity Review

A recent reviewof Cards Against Humanity made me give so much side eye, the computer screen nearly bent. I will thank them for getting my fingers back to the keyboard! Players and creators agree the game is going to offend people. I won’t go into the reviewers’ cringe-worthy use of the word “privilege” or needing a “trigger warning”. I am going to review the game fairly as a lover of games. If my…

New Journey = New Blog Efforts

I have some big news! After two years of exploring a foreign land, meeting the locals, and discovering my passions (yes, this worked out kind of like a book), I will be ending my stay in Georgia and returning to New Jersey! I’m coming back loaded with experience and drive. Unfortunately, it took being 800+ miles from home to gain this experience. I’m a woman who needs to learn the hard way.…

The Ingenue and the Chicken Wings

Once upon a time I used to dream of being the ingenue in a play.  I even thought I could pull it off. Then I realized I wasn’t white or skinny or anything to fit this society’s non-negotiable standard of ingenuebeauty. Except maybe my big pretty eyes. Then I stopped eating nearly as badly as I was and I lost weight. Then I started liking myself more than I did. Then I went Primal/Paleo/Clean.…

Passions should make you passionate: Coconut Shrimp Soup

Well this has been an eventful few weeks. I wish it were more positive, but a slip is a slip and I tend to go nuts and lose track of things. Three solid weeks I was on a roll. Go me! But I’m remembering just how difficult it is to get back on track for me. But anyway–!

I went apple picking in Elijay! We were able to eat apples right off the trees! Yum! Picnic didn’t work out like we’d hoped, but…

Confucius say: Deep thoughts go well with Crockpot Cashew Chicken

That scare two weeks ago has me in full blown health and happiness mode. I’m game! I can even plan treats and slowly accumulate ingredients without as much fear of eating or drinking what I bought before I’m ready to make the recipe. That’s right. Who has two thumbs and didn’t take shots of maple syrup while making clean caramel for the first time? THIS GIRL! Also, I’m happy to say I am the…

Happy October – Pumpkin Cream Chicken Casserole

How many times have I said, “Every day is a new day to start over”? Well y’know what? I will keep saying it because it’s true! Over the weekend, the real weekend, I had a bit of a wake up call. 3 weeks of fairly consistent binging on straight SAD style sugary sweets left my body reeling. It was pretty excessive. Before I started with Primal eating, I allowed myself these treats on occasion or so…

Holiday Prep – Pumpkin Pie

Sometimes it’s good to run on a whim. Sometimes it leads to binges. Sometimes it’s worth it.

I’ve been struggling a little mentally since I’ve returned from NJ. Basically my vacation brain hasn’t shut off quite yet. The lever is stuck in this weird limbo notch where my dreams aren’t of vacation, but of the future and how I should be reaching those goals. Having a steady full time job is certainly…

Eating Habits – Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

I had a dream I was in high school, but with my middle school and college classmates. The college classmates, the boyfriend as well, were doing the procession through a super fancy bathroom. I’m talking marble floor and walls, high tech massage chairs, a winding maze of perfect stalls. Then we all had to make arrangements for our senior trip to somewhere in Florida and I had to take the drive…

It’s a good feeling to get your act together. It’s not fun when cravings hit, but it’s fun to beat them! What’s life without some challenge, yeah? Like how you feel when you beat a video game by yourself. I haven’t experienced that in a while. Better bust out my DS again soon. And my brother reminded me of making a food log so I can see my victories and struggles. I used the template from the…

Damn. Damn. Damn!

I really thought I could do it, guys. I thought I could get through my birthday unscathed. The mentality was there. I made the choices I made purposely. But the nail in the coffin was my choice not to cook in our downtime the Thursday my mom was here. That led to absolute disaster. I’m sorry. I was hoping I could go much longer without talking about another binge. I think I…

Immature? Me? Why I nev–PIZZA PARTY!

Guess what! I’m learning! I’m becoming a real big girl with big girl confidence and positivity and mindset to treat myself without binging. Suck it, binges! Despite that I’ve likely had too much sugar the last couple of weeks and your body can’t tell the difference between natural and chemical sugar when it needs to release insulin, I’ve still been a solid 90/10 clean! It’s been a very good few…

New this week: When Tropical Traditions has a sale, you do NOT say no.

Well this has been a hell of a reinvention week. I don’t want to get too excited. Clearly there’s some of that exciting feeling of novelty at work here and it’s only a few days since my body hurt so much from the three weeks of consistent binging. By the way, thank you for the support shown on my last post. It means so much to…